ANN ARBOR–The University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender will explore the issue of gender-based censorship in a three-day conference this week that will spotlight research by some of the country’s foremost experts on the effects of censorship on women in the United States.

Few people think of censorship beyond the boundaries of laws that govern the rules of expression, but there is a whole other realm to censorship that touches our lives—particularly the lives of women, according to Domna Stanton, director of the Institute’s Gender-Based Censorship Project which is sponsoring the conference.

“Censorship does not only emanate from the state, but it permeates all of our lives in every way. We need to be aware of what those forms of censorship are and the ways we internalize them into self-censorship. Many people may not think of it in those terms, but there are multiple forms of censorship that affect women differently than men,” she said.

Some of the subjects that will be explored during the conference include educational, technological, cultural, political and economic censors. Other subjects include the sexual representation of children, backlash against feminism in the media and the ways in which young women censor themselves due to influences by women’s magazines.

The conference will take place Feb. 5-7 in the Rackham Building on the U-M campus. It is free and open to the public. The schedule is as follows:

Friday, February 5

Session I – 1-3 p.m., “Redefining Censorship”

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Presenters:

Opening remarks by Lee Bollinger, president and professor of law, University of Michigan

Domna Stanton (chair), Romance Languages, Women’s Studies, University of Michigan

Lauren Berlant, English, University of Chicago

“Expletive Deleted, or Feminism and the Chilling Effect”

Richard Burt, English, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

“Secret(ion)s: Feminism, Sexual Harassment, and Pedagogical Performance”

Thomas Dumm, Political Science, Amherst College

“What Does It Matter Who Is Speaking?”

Katha Pollitt, The Nation

“Censorship and Self-Censorship”

Chris Whitman (discussant), Law, University of Michigan

Session II – 3:30-5:15 p.m., “Dis-Information: The Case of Reproduction”

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Presenters:

Nancy Reame (session chair), School of Nursing, University of Michigan

Reed Boland, editor-in-chief, Annual Review of Population Law, Harvard Law School

“The Right to Information on Abortion in the US and the New Europe”

Meredith Michaels, Philosophy, Smith College

“Mommy, Where Did I Come From?’: The Big Bang and the Narrative of Origins”

Jill Morawski, Psychology,Wesleyan University

“The Male Factor in Reproduction: Making a Spermatic Economy”

Dorothy Roberts, Law, Northwestern University

“What’s Wrong with Information about Norplant?”

Martin Pernick (discussant), History, University of Michigan

Section III – 7:30-9:30 p.m., “The Sexual Representation of Children: Trauma or Uncensored Speech.”

Place: Rackham Amphitheater

Presenters:

James Steward (session chair), Director, Museum of Art, University of Michigan

Amy Adler, Law, New York University

“The Perverse Law of Child Pornography”

Elissa Benedek, Clinical Psychiatry, University of Michigan

“Deception: Sexual Representation and Trauma”

Anne Higonnet, Art, Wellesley College

“Pictures of Children: Laws Written and Unwritten”

Marianne Hirsch, French, Dartmouth College

“Family Pictures in Public View”

Pat Simons (discussant), History of Art, Women’s Studies, University of Michigan

Saturday, February 6

Section IV – 9-10:45 a.m., “Hostile Climates: Hateful and Harassing Speech.”

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Presenters:

Helmut Puff (session chair), German, University of Michigan

Sumi Cho, DePaul Law School

“Normalization of Hostility and the Culture of Collegiality”

Barbara Gutek, Management and Policy, University of Arizona

“Sexual Harassment and Censorship”

Laura Lederer, Protection Project, John F. Kennedy School of Government

“Repression of Gender-Based Information as a Form of Censorship”

John Powell, Law, University of Minnesota

“Speaking in Silence: Censorship and the Making of Women”

Elizabeth Anderson (discussant), Philosophy, University of Michigan

Session V – 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m., “Censoring Feminism”

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Presenters:

Betty Bell (session chair), English, Native American Studies, University of Michigan

Susan Douglas, Communication Studies, University of Michigan

“Still the F-word: How Standards of Newsworthiness Marginalize Feminism”

Laura Flanders, Pacifica Network News

“The All Too Visible Women: How Anti-Feminists Went Mainstream”

Lisa Moore, Editor, Redbone Press

“Blackout: Issues in Feminist Publishing and Distribution”

Kathy Rodgers, NOW Legal Defense Fund

“Censoring Feminism: The Invisible Woman”

Pamela Reid (discussant), Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Psychology, University of Michigan

11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. – Book Display/Sale by Shaman Drum Books

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Session VI – 2:15-4:15 p.m., “Passing”

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Presenters:

Earl Lewis (chair), Dean, Rackham Graduate School, Afro-American and African Studies, University of Michigan

Robert Granfield, Sociology, University of Denver

“Becoming Ethical: The Challenges and Limitations of Professionalism”

Anne Herrmann, English, Women’s Studies, University of Michigan

“Femmes: Replication or Resistance?”

Mary Romero, Justice Studies, Arizona State University

“Passing Between Maids and Mistresses in the Life Story of a Mexican Maid’s Daughter: Unveiling the Silence of Race, Class and Gender”

Martha Umphrey, Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought, Amherst College

“Passing, Property, and Self Possession: The Legal value of Social

Reputation”

Tomas Almaguer (discussant), Sociology, American Culture, University of Michigan

Session VII – 7:30-9:15 p.m., “Countering Censorship”

Place: Rackham Amphitheater

Presenters:

Patricia Gurin (chair), Dean, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Psychology, University of Michigan

Tali Edut, Founding Editor, HUES Magazine

“Taking Barbie Out of the Picture: Countering Visual Censorship in Women’s Magazines”

Dawn Jackson, executive producer of “Naturally Native,” Red-Horse Native Productions

“Making Naturally Native”

Charlotte Lowe and Lakesha Cooper, participants in the making of “Looking at Teen Motherhood: The Fantastic Moms Video,” directed by Salome Chasnoff

“Looking Back at Fantastic Moms”

Carol Jacobsen, School of Art and Design, University of Michigan, and Susan Fair, Founder, The Michigan Battered Women’s Clemency Project

“Barred: Women in Prison”

Sunday, February 7

7 – 9:30 a.m., Continental Breakfast

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

Session VIII – 9:30-11:30 a.m., “Gender-Based Censorship: Limits and Possibilities.”

Place: Rackham Assembly Hall

A Panel Discussion led by Abigail Stewart, Director, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan

7:00 p.m., Special screening of “Naturally Native,” a film by Dawn Jackson, The Michigan Theater

Lee BollingerRomance LanguagesLauren BerlantKatha PollittChris Whitman